Wall Street has been hyperfocused on the U.S.-Iran war for more than six weeks. That's starting to change as first-quarter corporate earnings pour in. Leading banks such as Goldman Sachs , JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley have all posted quarterly reports this week — along with pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson . And while it's still super early in the season, the early indications are promi...
Wall Street has been hyperfocused on the U.S.-Iran war for more than six weeks. That's starting to change as first-quarter corporate earnings pour in. Leading banks such as Goldman Sachs , JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley have all posted quarterly reports this week — along with pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson . And while it's still super early in the season, the early indications are promising — positioning the stock market for further gains. Eighty percent of the roughly 30 S & P 500 companies that have reported have topped expectations, according to FactSet. The blended, first-quarter earnings growth rate, which factors in profit expansion from companies that already posted results and estimates from those that haven't, sits at 12.4%. If that growth rate holds, it would mark the sixth straight quarter of double-digit earnings expansion, FactSet data shows. This earnings season could also give a boost to perhaps the most important sector in the market: Technology. Scott Rubner of Citadel Securities pointed out that the S & P 500 tech sector is trading at about 22 times forward earnings — well below below the five-year average multiple of 25.9. The tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 index has a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 23.8, also below its five-year average. "Valuations have compressed meaningfully into earnings, particularly in technology," Rubner wrote. "The setup into earnings remains asymmetric. Positioning is still light following the recent de-risking, leaving room for incremental fundamental buying." That buying could take the broader market back to all-time highs. The S & P 500 closed Tuesday just 0.2% below its all-time closing high of 6,978.60, and only 0.5% away from making a new intraday record, above the old 7,002.28. "We expect S & P 500 corporate profits to increase about 17% for the first quarter of this year, marking the fastest pace of growth since the fourth quarter of 2021, driven by a combination of broad-based strength and robust demand fo...
Kirk Moore was injured as he tackled a former pupil who opened fire at Pauls Valley high school Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox An Oklahoma principal has been praised for preventing a tragedy at his high school by charging and disarming a former student armed with two semi-automatic handguns, an episode captured on dramatic surveillance video. Kirk Moo...
Kirk Moore was injured as he tackled a former pupil who opened fire at Pauls Valley high school Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox An Oklahoma principal has been praised for preventing a tragedy at his high school by charging and disarming a former student armed with two semi-automatic handguns, an episode captured on dramatic surveillance video. Kirk Moore, principal of Pauls Valley high school, was shot in the leg as he wrestled the attacker, a 20-year-old said by court documents to be obsessed with the 1999 shooting at Colorado’s Columbine high school in which 12 students and one teacher were killed. Continue reading...
With the near closure of the Strait of Hormuz in its second month, producers of everything from metal to consumer goods in the Persian Gulf are turning to land transport in an effort to keep their products flowing. Some of the world’s biggest container carriers have started offering trucking services, and local road haulers have reported a surge in demand. While Gulf states had some contingency me...
With the near closure of the Strait of Hormuz in its second month, producers of everything from metal to consumer goods in the Persian Gulf are turning to land transport in an effort to keep their products flowing. Some of the world’s biggest container carriers have started offering trucking services, and local road haulers have reported a surge in demand. While Gulf states had some contingency measures in place to continue exporting crude oil, the conflict has become a worst case scenario for the trade in other goods. Trukker, a United Arab Emirates-based business that started an Uber-like service for trucks a decade ago, experienced a 30% increase in its road shipments in March based on full truckloads, Chief Executive Officer Gaurav Biswas said in an interview. The company, whose large clients include Emirates Global Aluminium , DP World and Unilever Plc , deployed more than 500 trucks for so-called land-bridge operations in the first days of the conflict. It has maintained a continuous flow of goods, mainly petrochemicals and metals, but also food and consumer products. With trucks providing a link inland from ports on the eastern edge of the UAE and Oman “you can pretty much avoid the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea,” Biswas said. With transits through the strait restricted, Jeddah on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, and Salalah and Sohar on Oman’s Arabia Sea coast have replaced Persian Gulf ports like Jebel Ali in the UAE as the major conduits for trade in the region. Hapag-Lloyd AG, based in Hamburg in Germany, said last week that it has established ground transport routes across Saudi Arabia and Oman, and going in and out of Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S has published an advisory spelling out land based solutions for cargo across the region. Only retail and e-commerce shipments have dipped since the start of the Iran war, said Trukker’s Biswas. Trukker has moved from contract pricing to daily spot rates — rising as...
Conflict is pushing up price of energy and food, fuelling higher borrowing costs and hitting growth, report says Iran war escalation could trigger global recession, IMF warns Business live – latest updates The Iran war risks triggering a rise in global debt levels, forcing governments to choose between cushioning a cost of living shock and maintaining sound public finances, the International Monet...
Conflict is pushing up price of energy and food, fuelling higher borrowing costs and hitting growth, report says Iran war escalation could trigger global recession, IMF warns Business live – latest updates The Iran war risks triggering a rise in global debt levels, forcing governments to choose between cushioning a cost of living shock and maintaining sound public finances, the International Monetary Fund has warned. Against a volatile backdrop of the Middle East conflict , the Washington-based fund said the war could add to the already strained position of government finances throughout the world. Continue reading...
Announcement comes before Matt Brittin replaces Tim Davie as director general next month Business live – latest updates The BBC is to cut as many as 2,000 jobs in the biggest down-sizing of the public service broadcaster in 15 years. Staff are set to be informed of the cuts, which will affect about 10% of the BBC’s 21,500 staff, at an all-staff meeting on Wednesday. Continue reading...
Announcement comes before Matt Brittin replaces Tim Davie as director general next month Business live – latest updates The BBC is to cut as many as 2,000 jobs in the biggest down-sizing of the public service broadcaster in 15 years. Staff are set to be informed of the cuts, which will affect about 10% of the BBC’s 21,500 staff, at an all-staff meeting on Wednesday. Continue reading...
Met says incident in Finchely is being treated as antisemitic hate crime Two suspects who threw bottles thought to contain petrol in an attempted arson at a synagogue in Finchley, north London, are being sought by detectives, the Metropolitan police said, adding that the attack was being treated as an antisemitic hate crime. More details soon …. Continue reading...
Met says incident in Finchely is being treated as antisemitic hate crime Two suspects who threw bottles thought to contain petrol in an attempted arson at a synagogue in Finchley, north London, are being sought by detectives, the Metropolitan police said, adding that the attack was being treated as an antisemitic hate crime. More details soon …. Continue reading...
DATA Communications Management ( DCM:CA ) chief executive officer Richard Kellam exercised 2.5M stock options and acquired about 1.39M shares on a cashless basis. The options were exercised at a price of $0.69/share. Following the transaction, Kellam now owns ~3.8% of the company’s outstanding shares. The exercised options were originally granted in March 2021 as part of his CEO compensation packa...
DATA Communications Management ( DCM:CA ) chief executive officer Richard Kellam exercised 2.5M stock options and acquired about 1.39M shares on a cashless basis. The options were exercised at a price of $0.69/share. Following the transaction, Kellam now owns ~3.8% of the company’s outstanding shares. The exercised options were originally granted in March 2021 as part of his CEO compensation package. The company has granted Kellam an additional 2.5M stock options as long-term incentives. More on DATA Communications Management DATA Communications Management Corp. 2025 Q4 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation DATA Communications Management Corp. (DCM:CA) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript Historical earnings data for DATA Communications Management Dividend scorecard for DATA Communications Management Financial information for DATA Communications Management
Gri-spb/iStock via Getty Images Nu Holdings Ltd. ( NU ) has continued reporting incredible growth not reflected in the stock price. The fintech is quickly moving beyond the Brazilian market, though the banking potential in the largest South American country is still largely untapped. My investment thesis is ultra Bullish on the stock with the potential future entry into the U.S. market. Source: Fi...
Gri-spb/iStock via Getty Images Nu Holdings Ltd. ( NU ) has continued reporting incredible growth not reflected in the stock price. The fintech is quickly moving beyond the Brazilian market, though the banking potential in the largest South American country is still largely untapped. My investment thesis is ultra Bullish on the stock with the potential future entry into the U.S. market. Source: Finviz Irrational Fears Nu operates in the riskier emerging markets, but the fintech is focused on traditional banking services to drive growth. The market treats the company like a high risk lender with a questionable growth story. The fintech is incredibly profitable due to an extremely low efficiency ratio of below 20% now. Nu absorbed $1.3 billion in credit costs last quarter, nearly 27% of revenues, and still produced $895 million in net income. Source: Nu Holdings Q4'25 presentation Nu has 131 million customer accounts now with a monthly cost to serve of only $0.8. The fintech has mostly kept the cost to serve active accounts flat while the monthly ARPAC continues to jump, up 25% YoY to $15 in Q4'25. The company continues to drive monthly revenue much higher the longer customers are active on the platform. Customers in Brazil on the platform for 96 months, or 8 years, now average $30.2 in monthly revenue. Nu doesn't even need additional growth drivers, but the company is pushing into the U.S. market. The bank got conditional approval for a national bank charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in January. The fintech already has a $41.9 billion deposit base with $8.8 billion in deposits outside of Brazil. The bank has shown robust growth moving into new markets, but the Brazil market still grew deposits by $10.1 billion YoY, up 44%. Source: Nu Holdings Q4'25 presentation The U.S. probably won't lead to a huge active customer base, but the customers in the U.S. could drive much higher revenues per active customer. The U.S. has ~68 million Latinos living...
Stanley Fong/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Starbucks Corporation ( SBUX ) is turning to AI to boost engagement by launching a beta app inside ChatGPT that turns drink discovery into a conversational experience. The tool lets users describe a mood, preference, or vibe and get beverage recommendations that can be customized for pickup through the Starbucks app or website. The company says the ne...
Stanley Fong/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Starbucks Corporation ( SBUX ) is turning to AI to boost engagement by launching a beta app inside ChatGPT that turns drink discovery into a conversational experience. The tool lets users describe a mood, preference, or vibe and get beverage recommendations that can be customized for pickup through the Starbucks app or website. The company says the new ChatGPT feature is meant to meet customers at the moment of inspiration, rather than forcing them to start with a menu. The rollout is part of Starbucks' ( SBUX ) broader push to use technology to make ordering feel more personalized while still steering final purchases back to the SBUX ecosystem, where loyalty and mobile ordering will remain central to the business. Starbucks has also been testing AI more broadly, including Green Dot Assist, a barista-facing tool built with Microsoft ( MSFT ) Azure’s OpenAI platform. The ChatGPT announcement aligns with CEO Brian Niccol's "Back to Starbucks" turnaround plan, which is focused on restoring the company’s coffeehouse feel after years of leaning too heavily into mobile volume. Niccol's plans include adding cozy seating back to stores, simplifying the menu, reworking the loyalty program, clearer service standards, and pushing a more overall welcoming in-store experience. AI is expected to support the business behind the scenes without replacing the human side of the brand, including possible future tools such as voice ordering and smarter forecasting. Shares of Starbucks ( SBUX ) are up 17% on a year-to-date basis. More on Starbucks Starbucks: The Financial Brew Sours Starbucks Corporation (SBUX) Shareholder/Analyst Call - Slideshow Starbucks: Full Price For A Half-Brewed Turnaround Starbucks' China franchise deal improves visibility into turnaround -- Jefferies Starbucks Workers United accuses company of negotiating in bad faith -- update
Genius Group ( GNS ) has entered into a securities purchase agreement with certain investors, including American Ventures as lead investor, for the purchase and sale of 21.6M shares of ordinary shares (or pre-funded warrants in lieu thereof) in a registered direct offering at a public offering price of $0.37 per share. The offering is expected to occur on or about April 16, 2026, subject to the sa...
Genius Group ( GNS ) has entered into a securities purchase agreement with certain investors, including American Ventures as lead investor, for the purchase and sale of 21.6M shares of ordinary shares (or pre-funded warrants in lieu thereof) in a registered direct offering at a public offering price of $0.37 per share. The offering is expected to occur on or about April 16, 2026, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. The company expects to receive aggregate gross proceeds of $8M from the offering and use $5.5M of the net proceeds to fund the acquisition of a Senior Secured Convertible Promissory Note that is immediately convertible into 9.9% of the equity of Jewel Financial, the sole shareholder of Jewel Bancorp - Bermuda’s only dual-licensed digital bank. In addition to the cash consideration, the company will issue 15M ordinary shares to the sellers at a deemed price of $0.40 per share as further consideration for the acquisition. Jewel Bank is developing a US dollar-denominated stablecoin (JUSD) and digital asset banking services, including custody, settlement, and stablecoin infrastructure. The remainder of the net proceeds will be used to support working capital needs and general corporate purposes. GNS shares fell 15.5% premarket to $0.38. More on Genius Group Genius Group Limited 2025 Q4 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation Genius Group Limited (GNS) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Prepared Remarks Transcript Genius Group reports Q1 results Genius Group CEO buys 300K company shares on open market Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on Genius Group